Friday, August 6: Show Me!

Over five decades ago, I was born in Missouri, the “Show-Me State.” Though the unofficial state motto might seem strange, it reflects the stalwart quality of Missourians, and has a better ring to it than the “Talk is Cheap State!” Yet the concept that actions speak louder than words is not unique to a Midwestern state. James offers us a similar sentiment:


For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:26


Do you really believe what you claim to believe? Interestingly, as Charles Darwin approached death, the confirmed agnostic who showed strong signs of atheism in his “science apart from God” theories, considered embracing the Christ that he had denied for all of his adult years. Finally, Darwin decided that a conversion to Christianity would be hypocritical, and would refute all of his life’s work, and consequently, he died without making peace with God. As hypocritical as Darwin might have appeared, Christians can appear even more hypocritical when they espouse the view that God’s will is both paramount and beneficial, yet moan whenever life gets a little bit rocky.


Have you ever met a Christian with a fear of death? Satan’s deceit can cause doubt to seep into a Christian’s belief system, and one doubt can rock a stable ship. Sadly, there are people claiming to be Christians who go through the Bible as if it were a grocery list, picking and choosing which aspects they want to believe. “Everyone has sex before marriage, so that can’t be wrong.” “I am too young to raise a baby alone, so I am going to have an abortion. I know that until birth, it’s not really a life anyway.” “If I tell the truth, it will hurt her feelings, so I don’t understand why it is wrong to lie.” If God is powerful enough to have created all that we can see, and all that we cannot see, isn’t He powerful enough to have errant men write His inerrant words in a book? To me, it takes more faith to believe that all of this exists without God! I just don’t understand how all the intricacies of the universe, our planet or our bodies could have happened randomly.


When we look at the Hall of Fame of Faith in Hebrews 11, we see a cast of characters including Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Yet there’s another name in that list:


30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
Hebrews 11:30-31


One of the people in Faith’s Hall of Fame is a prostitute, who God chose to be in the bloodline of Jesus, as she was the great grandmother of King David! Why was what she did so important to be mentioned centuries later? Rahab lived in Jericho where the people did not worship the One God, yet when Pharaoh’s army broke the world record for swimming underwater, many people in the region took notice of a God who didn’t just slumber, but lifted His mighty hand to save His people. Then Rahab demonstrated that her belief was not just words, but actions, as she hid the Israelite spies, then said,


“…I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
Joshua 2:9-12

Rahab didn’t see God’s miracle, but instead, she heard about it and acted. In the same manner, we please God when we demonstrate that our belief goes much deeper than words. It’s easy to go to church or to check a box next to the word “Christian” on a survey. It’s simple to pray when your spouse is in the hospital or to say “thank you, God” after getting a raise at work. It is more difficult to notice that a family down the street seems to be losing lots of weight soon after the parents lost their jobs. It is also more difficult to thank God when you cannot pay your bills at the end of the month. Yet we are not called to follow God when it is easy; we are called to follow Him wherever He may lead. We are going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we are not going to be walking there alone. God is telling us all, “If you truly believe what you say you believe, show Me!”


Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
John 6:29